Automatic typewriter



July 1, 1930; K.v D. EVANS 1,769,625

I I AUTOMATIC 'YPEWRITER Original Filed June 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheei 1 r mfi j mffm July 1, 1930 K. D. EVANS AUTOMATIC TYPEWRITER Original Filed June 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ffww zwv w- Patented July 1, 1930 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KELLEY D. EVANS, OF HAMILTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO 0. E. HOOVEN,

OF HAMILTON, OHIO AUTOMATIC TYPE-WRITER Application filed June 18, 1927, Serial No.

- This invention relates to an automatic letter and word spacing, for tabulating purposes, and for the carriage return, through motor operated means or devices rendered elfective either through selection by a perforated record sheet or by manual operation of the keys of the keyboard.

The keys are not directly connected to the type bars, but with either mode of selection they are swung to printing position by a motor driven actuator which, when the selection occurs, rocks an actuating lever which in turn is connected to the type bars, one of these actuating levers being associated with each key employed for printing and for the control of the carriage. Normally, these actuating levers are out of the path of the actuator and they are moved into the path of the actuator, which is in the form of an oscillating bar by either of two motor operated devices also preferably in the form of oscillating bars, one being rendered eflective by the perforations of the record sheet and the other vby the depression of the keys.

p In the machine of my prior application wherein the above subject matter and numerous other features of the machine are claimed, the selection is accomplished by providing on the front and rear ends of the actuating levers spring actuated pins, those at the rear end of the actuating levers being adapted to drop into the perforations of the record sheet so as to come into the path of the rear oscillating bar and permitting the latter to then move the levers forwardly into the path of the actuator, and the pins on the front ends of the levers being permitted to drop into the path of the front oscillating bar by the depression of the keys of the keyboard, so that this bar may move the actuating levers into the-path of the actuator.

199,637. Renewed'September 21, 1929.

Therefore, regardless of the mode of selection, the type bars are swung to printing position by the actuator so that the character and appearance of the printing impressions are identical whether the typewriting is done solely through selection by the record sheet, or partly through the latter and partly through selection by the actuation of the keys.

The present improvement is concerned particularly with the means by which the selection is brought about through the actuation of the key levers, the present construction eliminating the spring pins at the front ends of the actuating levers but having associated with the key levers means of a novel and effective character which when the key levers are actuated causes the actuating levers to be moved into the path of the actuator so that they may be rocked to perform their function either in shifting the type bars to printing position or for the control of the carriage without requiring any further downward movement of the keys. In fact, by this mechanism the means by which the actuating levers are moved into the path of the actuator is not effective until the operator releases the keys after they have been depressed.

The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawing,

F gure '1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional V1ew showing only that part of the mechanism of the automatic typewriter essential to a proper understanding of the present im provement, and Figures 2, 3 and 4 are detail views show ing in different relative positions the parts embodying the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, my improved automatic typewriter is provided with printing characters and for the control of the carriage, only one of the key levers being illustrated at 10. These key levers are piva keyboard having keys for the diflerent mounted upon a suitable support in the segment 15, and when swung to printing position enter the usual guide 16 ad ac-ent the platen which is indicated at 17. Each type bar 14 has a pin and slot connection with a sublink 18, which in turn has a pin and 'slot connection with an actuating lever 19, one of which" is associated with each key lever 10.

These actuating levers are normally supported, as indicated in Figure 1, on a rod 20,

extending between the side plates of the frame and on a bar 21 to which is attached a comb 22 serving to space apart and guide the rear portions of the actuatin levers.

The actuating levers are a apted to move forwardly in a manner hereinafter described, and are then adapted to be rocked on rod 20 by a motor driven actuator 23, so as toswing the associated type bars to printing position, or to control the carriage. The motor driven actuator 23 is an oscillating bar which, aslong as the machine is in operation, is swung up and down by the motor, not here shown, this bar being supported by a pair of arms 24 mounted on a rock shaft 25, there being attached to one of the arms 24 a rod 26 having at its lower end an eccentric ring engaging an eccentric on a main drive shaft 27, to which.

the motor referred to is suitably geared.

Additionally, the motor driven shaft actuates a front oscillating bar 28 and a rear oscillating bar 29, which, as long as the machine is in operation, are oscillated back and forth in a substantially horizontal plane, as distinguished from the plane of oscillating movement' of the actuator 23. The front bar 28 is mounted on a front rock shaft 30 and the rear bar is loosel mounted on a feed shaft 31 for the record s eet, both bars being oscillated in unison by a double ended arm 32, having between its ends an eccentric sleeve engaging an eccentric on the main drive shaft 27, this last mentioned eccentric being preferably displaced 90 from that which actuates the actuator 23.

The rear oscillating bar 29 is utilized to move the actuating levers 19 forwardly when the selection occurs through the perforated record sheet, this bar being mounted to swing back and forth in the slot of a curved guide 33 over which the record sheet 34 passes, the record sheet being fed by sprocket wheels 35 fixed to the-feed shaft 31, the said shaft and and during this movement the hook 38 pulls sprocket wheels being given a step-by-step movement by a pawl 36 carried by arm 32 and adapted to engage a ratchet wheel 36 on one of the sprockets 35.

The rear ends of all of the different actuating levers 19 are, as in my prior application, provided with spring pressed pins 37, the pins being normally held retracted by the unperforated portion of the record sheet, but when a perforation comes opposite or beneath one of the pins it drops down in front of the rear oscillating bar 29, so that the latter may move the corresponding actuating lever forwardly into the path of the actuator 23, which then rocks the actuating lever to cause the type bar to be swung to printing position or to control the carriage as the case may be without in any way moving the associated key lever 10. The operation of this part of the machine is precisely the same asin my prior application.

Instead of employing at the front ends of the actuating levers spring pins similar to the spring pins at the rear ends of the actuating levers, as in my prior application, the following construction and arrangement are utilized: Each key lever 10 has a downwardly projecting portion 10 at the lower end of which is a pivoted dog 38 having at the top a hook or shoulder 38* and at the bottom a detent 38 Normally the hooks 38 rest upon shoulders 19 at the forward ends of the 'actuating levers and the detents 38 are slightly above and out of the path of the front oscillating bar 28, the key levers and the associated pivoted dogs 38 being maintained in the relative positions shown in Fig. 1 by the spring actuated plunger 13.

The operator, on depressing one of the keys, swings the key lever and pivoted dog to the relative positions shown in Fig. 2. When this movement takes place, the hook 38 of the dog moves off the shoulder 19 of the actuating lever and drops behind the shoulder, the dog swinging downward and rearward until it comes up against a stop shoulder 10 on the extension 10 of the key lever. At this time the detent 38 is still above the path of the 0s cillating bar 28, and, accordingly, the actuating lever cannot be shifted until the operator removes his finger from the key.

When the operators finger is removed from the key, the key lever is immediately returned to nearly its normal position by the spring plunger 13, the parts then being in the relative positions shown in Fig. 3 with the detent now in the path of the oscillating bar 28. The bar now engages the detent and rocks the key lever and dog back until the lever is in its normal position shown in Fig. 4,

the actuating lever forwardly until an upward extension 19 of the actuating lever is in the path of the. actuator 23, whereupon, during the succeeding downward stroke of the actuator, the forward end of the actuating lever is swung downward, causing the type bar to be swung to printing position. This disengages the shoulder l9 of the actuating lever from the hook 38, permitting the parts to be restored to the relative positions shown in Fig. 1.

The key levers 10 are spaced apart and guided by a comb 39 which extends across the machine just forwardly of the rod 11 and the forward ends of the actuating levers. The hooks 38 of the detents and the tongues 10 of the key levers are spaced apart and guided by a comb 40 extending across the frame of the machine just rearwardly of the rod 11.

It will be seenthat with this construction, as with the construction first described, there is no direct connection between the key lever and the type bar, but, as noted above,'it is not until the operator removes his finger from the key that the dog is so positioned that the actuating lever can be moved forwardly so as to be rocked by the actuator.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an automatic typewriter, key levers, type bars, actuating levers connected to the type bars, a motor driven actuator, a motor driven member for moving the actuating levers into the path of the actuator, and means carried by the key levers and movably mounted thereon for rendering said member effective on the manual depression of the key levers.

2. In an automatic typewriter, a keyboard having key levers, type bars, actuating levers connected to the type bars, a motor driven actuator for shifting the actuating levers to swing the type bars to printing position, a motor driven member for moving the actuating levers into the path of the actuator, and

means for rendering said member effective on the depression of the keys of the keyboard comprising devices carried by the key levers and having portions engageable with said member and with the actuating levers.

3. In an automatic typewriter having a keyboard, type bars, and provision for re-- "celving a perforated record sheet, a motor driven actuator, actuating levers operatively connected-to the type bars and adapted to be shifted by the actuator, .two motor operated devices for shifting said levers into the path of the actuator, means at the rear end of the actuating levers whereby one of said motor operated devices is rendered efiective by the perforations of the record sheet, and means carried by the key levers of the keyboard whereby the other of said motor operated devices is rendered effective 'by the depression of the keys.

4. In an automatic typewriter having a keyboard with key levers, type bars and provision for receiving a perforated record sheet, actuating levers connected to the type bars, a motor driven actuator for rocking the actuating levers to'swin the type bars to printing position, means w 'ereby the actuating levers are moved into the path of the actuator through selection by the record and means whereby they are moved into the path of the actuator through manual selection when the key levers have been depressed and then released, comprising a motor driven device and members movably mounted on the key levers with parts adapted to cooperate with said device and with the actuating levers.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

KELLEY D. EVANS. 

